Li Tonglin wants to lead his army to plunder Sanlin Village in the north and have a bumper harvest of food, money and beauties!
But before he could lead his troops to kill them, sentries reported that thousands of officers and soldiers came from the northeast. This group of officers and soldiers must have come to surround them and suppress the rebels.
This is not the point. The point is that when these thousands of officers and soldiers were chasing their rebel army, they stopped by Sanlin Village.
According to the whistleblower report!
The officers and soldiers reported that Sanlin Village colluded with bandits to plunder the countryside. After a direct and violent attack for most of a day, Sanlin Village was breached. In addition to massacring the entire Sanlin Village, they also looted all the food and other property inside and used torches. Zhuangzi burned.
Obviously, the people who knew that Sanlin Village had food were not only Li Tonglin and the others, but also the officers and soldiers...
This news made Li Tonglin furious!
"That's all my food. Those officers and soldiers bullied me so much that they even dared to steal my food!"
Li Tonglin was so angry that he once wanted to lead his troops back to defeat the officers and soldiers and snatch the food back.
But they finally persuaded Sun Chengli and others to stop them. There were three to four thousand officers and soldiers there, and they were not rotten local guardsmen, but soldiers recruited from the camp sentries. It was too late to run away when they encountered them. If you turn around and go back to fight there, you're not looking for death!
Luo Zhixue actually didn't understand why Sun Chengli and the others were so afraid of the officers and soldiers. He felt that the uprising in the late Ming Dynasty was so big that the combat effectiveness of the officers and soldiers should not be very good. Otherwise, they would have been suppressed long ago. But why were Li Tonglin and the others so afraid of the officers and soldiers? Woolen cloth.
Sun Chengli explained his doubts: "There are many kinds of officers and soldiers. If they were ordinary guardsmen, it goes without saying that we could easily win if we just send a few hundred people there. But the ones coming now are not guardsmen." , but the elites under Zuo Liangyu."
There were also many types of officers and soldiers in the late Ming Dynasty, including elite border troops and recruiting troops who were more capable of fighting in the inland areas.
It's hard to say how strong or weak the different Ming armies are. It depends on who the generals are leading the troops.
For example, after Lu Xiangsheng went south to the Yunyang area, he joined several other officers and soldiers. In total, they killed only 10,000 people, but they defeated the tens of thousands of rebels entrenched in the Yunyang area and forced them to flee back to the mountains. , thus restoring stability to Yunyang.
And the officers and soldiers behind them now are the troops under Zuo Liangyu. It's hard to say whether Zuo Liangyu's army will win or lose against those large-scale rebels, but to defeat small rebels like Li Tonglin, they will definitely be a dozen. allow.
When you encounter an enemy like this, why don’t you run away and wait for the New Year!
The problem is that even if Li Tonglin and the others want to run, they won't be able to run easily.
After learning that there were officers and soldiers in the north, and that it was Zuo Liangyu's army who was chasing him, Li Tonglin initially shouted that he wanted to go back to grab food, but he was persuaded by his men after a while, and then ordered to leave.
But with the more than a thousand young refugees recruited along the way, they couldn't move fast at all.
Just three days later, they were overtaken by officers and soldiers.
When Luo Zhixue looked at the frequent patrols of officers and soldiers to the north, he knew that the rebel army he had just joined would turn from an escape into a full-scale rout at any time.
The only question is, can he escape successfully and survive?
"It seems difficult to deal with it. Now the army's reconnaissance cavalry has appeared. I'm afraid their forward is not far away. Once they are entangled by their forward, it won't take long for the main force of the army behind to feel it. It’s going to be big trouble.”
Luo Zhixue said to Sun Chengli beside him: "General, it's not okay to go on like this."
Sun Chengcheng, a middle-aged man with a pockmarked face and even an ugly appearance, also had a doubtful look on his face and only heard:
"We are now leaving with more than a thousand people and a lot of luggage. It is impossible to escape under the pursuit of the army."
"Now that things have come to this, the general needs to make a decision early." After saying this, Sun Chengli turned his head and looked at Li Tonglin, who was riding a horse not far away to observe the enemy's situation.
Listening to these words, Luo Zhixue could already hear the hidden meaning in Sun Chengcheng's words!
Make an early decision? What decision?
Luo Zhixue knew without much thought that this decision must mean abandoning the more than a thousand refugee soldiers and leaving with only more than a hundred cavalry.
The more than a thousand refugee soldiers were still carrying their baggage. Their marching speed was very slow and they could not escape the pursuit of the officers and soldiers behind them.
And there is another hidden danger that no one mentioned at this time, that is, they are short of food.
The remaining food in the army was less than seven days.
And because there were officers and soldiers chasing after them, the enemy's forward was only about ten miles away from them, so they didn't even have time to stop and attack small towns and farms to plunder food.
As soon as their front legs stopped, the forwards of the army behind them would catch up and entangle them.
If they continue to be chased by the army, even if they are not defeated by the army, they will still collapse completely due to lack of food.
However, if more than a thousand refugee soldiers are abandoned, things will be simple. Their more than a hundred cavalry can quickly get rid of the pursuit of the official army within a short period of time. After getting rid of the pursuit of the official army, the problem of lack of food later will not be a problem. Just finding a big landowner to plunder can solve the food problem.
Not far away, Li Tonglin also looked bad!
The army's reconnaissance cavalry has appeared, which means that the forward of the officers and soldiers is not far away, and the main force of the army is also close.
If you continue to delay like this, sooner or later you will be dead.
but!
Li Tonglin was not willing to just abandon these more than a thousand refugee soldiers!
After he led a group of soldiers to mutiny a few months ago, he fled everywhere while avoiding the encirclement and suppression by the government troops, while looting and gathering troops. On the way, he managed to gather more than a thousand soldiers.
According to his plan, after gathering a few thousand more people, he would follow the example of other large-scale rebel armies and attack a certain county, plunder food, gold and silver, take more young people with him, and then continue to grow in strength. Give him one year. In half a year, who dares to say that the army under his command cannot expand to tens of thousands?
But this was just the beginning when Zuo Liangyu caught his eye.
This gave him a sense of frustration that all his efforts had been wasted.
At this time, Sun Chengli also brought Luo Zhixue to Li Tonglin's side. Sun Chengli said: "General, it's been three days."
"We have tried, but these officers and soldiers are like dog-skin plaster, they cannot be shaken off!"
"General, let's go."
Luo Zhixue on the side also felt that Li Tonglin could not hesitate any longer. Otherwise, Luo Zhixue would have to consider whether to leave the group and take Lin Yu'er to escape on his own.
Chasing behind them were Zuo Liangyu's elite troops, including large groups of cavalry. It was impossible for them to escape with more than a thousand refugee soldiers.
Luo Zhixue immediately said: "General, starting from the two kings, rebel armies from all walks of life in Shaanxi, Shanxi and Henan have emerged. There are Chuang Wang Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai, etc. Now they have become a powerful force."
"Why have the army been so late in wiping out the rebels?"
When they heard Luo Zhixue speak, and what he said was about the general trend, Li Tonglin and Sun Chengli immediately turned their heads and looked over.
Luo Zhixue continued: "At the beginning, the rebel army was weak, so they avoided fighting and looked for opportunities to grow stronger. Now that the rebel army has become stronger, it will gather troops to attack or defend, making it difficult for the official army to continue."
"Moreover, the rebel army has many skilled cavalry, some are good at riding and shooting, or some are astride two horses. They can travel hundreds of miles a day to attack the weak enemy. Even if they are accidentally surrounded by the enemy, they can easily escape. There are many officers and soldiers, three steps and seven steps, and they can't be pursued. Chase."
"In this way, even though the army has been encircling and suppressing it for many years, the heroes are still spreading across many provinces!"
After preparing to say something, Li Tonglin narrowed his eyes slightly!
As an officer and soldier, and as one of the officers and soldiers who personally participated in the encirclement and suppression of bandit armies a few months ago, Li Tonglin could easily understand what Luo Zhixue said.
Why have the officers and soldiers been unable to exterminate the bandits from all walks of life?
Let’s not talk about factors such as natural disasters and man-made disasters, which lead to people not having enough to eat, and then continue to trigger various uprisings. Let’s just talk about the military aspect.
The reason why the officers and soldiers were unable to exterminate the bandits of all kinds was very simple, because most of the core members of the rebel army were horsemen, postmen, deserters, and rebels. The military quality of these people was actually not bad.
In addition, "Dreams in the Pine Window" written by Zhang Han of the Ming Dynasty said: Shaanxi has many donkeys, horses, cattle, sheep, and bones.
There are many mules and horses in this place!
The combination of many factors resulted in the core backbone of the rebel army being extremely mobile.
Even though officers and soldiers sometimes besieged large units of the rebel army, they were only the refugees who were used to raise money. As for the core members of the rebel army, they basically ran away when the opportunity came.
It is very difficult for the officers and soldiers to catch up with the rebels because they have more infantry and less cavalry.
After the backbone of the rebel army escaped from the officers and soldiers, they were given a few months to come out with tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of refugees.
Even the main generals within the Ming Dynasty saw this very clearly, so they adopted multi-faceted encirclement and suppression, pressing step by step, and compressing the space for activities of the rebels step by step. However, the results were not great. That’s all.
Li Tonglin actually knew this in his heart, but he had hesitated before because he was reluctant to gather his soldiers.
Now, Li Tonglin took a deep breath and said: "The officers and soldiers are chasing closely. With so many of us gathered together, the target is too big. I'm afraid we won't be able to escape. I ordered you to go down and the soldiers gathered mules and horses to prepare for a breakout. As for the remaining people , let them disperse and break out!"
After thinking about it, Li Tonglin said again: "Give them the food that cannot be taken away. Whether they live or die in the future depends on their own lives!"
After giving the instructions, Li Tonglin looked at Luo Zhixue again, with a kind look in his eyes: "Can Mr. Luo ride a horse? We will inevitably have to walk on some small roads later, and the carriage will not be easy to ride."
Luo Zhixue said: "I have learned a lot these days. Although I am not yet proficient, it is enough to ride a horse."
He had known for a long time that this group of thieves would run away under the pursuit of the army. Before he recovered a little, he asked Sun Chengli for a relatively docile pony to learn how to ride, and he also asked many people for advice.
Nowadays, it would be nonsense to say that he was proficient in equestrian skills, but it was still just fine if he was just riding a horse.
Besides, now is the critical moment to run away, even if you don’t know how to do it!
Li Tonglin nodded slightly!
Just know how to ride a horse!
He quite admired this Luo Zhixue. Not only was he literate and able to keep accounts, but the words he just said were not something that an ordinary scholar could say.
Perhaps he can be used to advise on military strategies in the future.
——
After Li Tonglin made his decision, he acted very quickly. It only took about half an hour to arrange the matter, and then he personally took the lead in evacuating with more than a hundred cavalry, Luo Zhixue and others.
As for the more than a thousand refugee soldiers, they dispersed after receiving the distributed food.
There were thousands of officers and soldiers behind them. If Li Tonglin hadn't forcibly led them away before, these refugee soldiers would have fled for their own lives, and they would have foolishly followed Li Tonglin to escape.
Therefore, this is actually a matter of mutual benefit.
Li Tonglin had to run away with more than a thousand refugee soldiers before he could really harm them.
Li Tonglin led more than a hundred soldiers on horseback and ran wildly. After more than a thousand refugee soldiers dispersed in a hurry, the officers and soldiers behind him were accustomed to this.
They have seen similar situations many times. Whenever the war goes against their will, the backbones of the rebel army will basically abandon the ordinary refugee cannon fodder and run away alone.
Therefore, the officers and soldiers ignored the refugee soldiers who dispersed in a hurry, but insisted on holding on to Li Tonglin and more than a hundred cavalrymen.
These more than a hundred cavalrymen are the backbone of this band of thieves. Killing them will truly destroy this bandit army. Otherwise, in a few months, these more than one hundred bandit cavalrymen will be able to gather thousands or even tens of thousands of refugees. Army.
